Consequences of a Fraud Conviction in Maryland

No crime is without consequence, no matter how non-violent or seemingly harmless that crime may seem. The consequences of a fraud conviction in Maryland, include potentially being labeled a felon, as well as jail time and exorbitant fines. If you have been convicted of fraud in the state of Maryland, get in touch with a capable criminal defense lawyer who can attempt to mitigate the penalties you may face.

Range of Fraud Penalties

One of the major consequences of a fraud conviction in Maryland is that the penalties can vary in severity. Unlike a local detention center, the range of penalty is a spectrum. At the bottom of the spectrum is supervised probation where a person does not serve any active incarceration. At the other end of that spectrum, a person is going to prison.

Serving a prison sentence for fraud and determining where that person is on the spectrum depends on a lot of different things. It depends on that person’s prior criminal record. If they have no criminal record, they are more likely to get a much smaller sentence or probation. If they have a record, and more importantly, they have a record of committing the exact same offenses the likelihood of incarceration increases and the likelihood of going to prison increases.

Sometimes the penalty may increase if the state is able to prove that there has been a fraud that has been going on for a very long time. It could be a one-time incident and the money that was actually taken from the person is minimal. Compare that to an investigation that goes on and shows that someone has been committing fraud against another person for months, maybe has been accessing that person’s account, or has assumed that person’s identity and racked up a ton of debt in another person’s name. Those kinds of factual scenarios are going to be much more likely to get a harsher penalty.

Immediate Consequences of a Fraud Conviction

The immediate consequences of a fraud conviction in Maryland could be that the person is placed on probation, and they would have to immediately start interacting with the probation officer. It could be that they have to serve a jail sentence. If the judge chooses, the day that the person goes into court, the day that they are convicted, the judge has the option of immediately placing that person in jail.

Even if the judge did not sentence the person that day, maybe sentencing was postponed for some reason, the judge can revoke someone’s pre-trial release and immediately place them in jail pending sentencing. Another immediate consequence could be the imposition of a fine and court costs. The court could indicate that they want those paid either that day or in the very near future. Those are examples of some of the immediate consequences.

Long-Term Consequences of a Fraud Conviction

There are also long-term consequences of a fraud conviction in Maryland. Probation could be considered an immediate a long-term consequence, because a person could be placed on probation. If they are in the circuit court, their term of probation could be up to five years. That is a very long time to be supervised by a probation agent and have to be reporting to someone. Basically, it is having this other person exerting a lot of control over the defendant’s life.

Impact on Employment

Someone might lose their job as a result of the conviction or they may not be considered for future employment because the potential employer does a background check and sees a conviction. It is probably going to give a potential employer a reason to take a step back and re-analyze whether or not they want to hire that particular person, especially if they see something on their record that has to do with their credibility and their honesty.

In general, an employer would not take that sort of risk and hire somebody that they are concerned will potentially steal from them or use information that they receive in the course of their business and defraud someone else. Having a conviction like that on a person’s record can have devastating consequences. If you have been convicted of fraud, contact a qualified fraud attorney who can build a solid defense for you.